Clear Scraps Project Post

We've got lots of birthdays coming up in my family!  Some of them are big celebrations of milestone years too.  Hi, I'm Maureen, and I'm here today to share a project with the newest Advent calendar kit – the Birthday Countdown!  This is one I've been excited to create with, and it's pretty easy to assemble.  Let me show you how!

I'm starting by painting a couple coats of acrylic paint on the trim of the frame.  Let this dry, and make sure you paint the back legs if you don't want the natural wood in the back. 

Next, paint the tags white and the numbers and letters black.  I think a good tip is to keep the numbers mostly assembled while you paint them, then cut them apart.  Note you'll need to do both front and back, as the front sides may not always face the same way.  This makes for faster painting!

Line the bottom wood easel panel with paper.  I've chosen a rainbow stripe for my project.  You can use plain glue or decoupage – both work great.  Another tip – I traced a pencil circle where the holes go, so that I can hammer them through later.  Then, take a soft mallet and hammer the pegs in gently through the paper.  Reinforce with glue.

I've chosen the Script Birthday and Balloons chipboard embellishment, and painted the balloons white, and stems black.  Behind this on the base piece, I've cut out a polka dot paper and glued it down.  This is added to the corner, when dry.

Now, the back of the easel needs some assembly.  First, make sure you put the little side pieces on first, and then insert the easel back tabs in.  This allows you to make sure you have the right angle.  You want the angle to face away from the back, so it has room to move.  Glue this on with a wood glue and let dry overnight.

Your final assembly is to put the painted frame on top.  This can be attached with a wood or hot glue.  Let dry and you are ready to celebrate!!

As you can see, this is a fun and fast project for any birthday.  It will give you a special item to celebrate that family member or friend each and every birthday. Enjoy and happy crafting!

Maureen